


As We Go Along

by strawberryjenos



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Volleyball AU, also nana's a flirt but we been knew, but who cares bc i can write hot volleyball boys, chenle is just really gay, i don't have a specific time this is set in, i just wanted this to be written like an 80's movie, like forreal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 11:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17527988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryjenos/pseuds/strawberryjenos
Summary: Nearly having his head taken off by a soccer ball isn't exactly how Chenle was planning to spend his second day of school. Once he joins yearbook and the school newspaper he befriends the disastrous volleyball team and makes a fool of himself in front of resident hottie Park Jisung. With all the chaos, Chenle's just hoping he manages to live through high school. Unfortunately, with Jaemin and Donghyuck around, he doesn't think that'll ever happen.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this about 9 months ago and only posted it on tumblr. Due to stress, depression, and a vast lack of response i gave up on this fic. but i miss it and idk...maybe if it gets feedback i might start it up again

“Tell me why I let you rope me into this meeting again?” Chenle asks.

“You’ll like it, I promise,” Renjun says.

Chenle rolls his eyes and follows his best friend into the choir room. He second guesses all of his life choices that led him up to this moment as he sits down beside Renjun. Chenle knows he would probably be considered a nerd by the people he goes to school with already, but being in yearbook is a whole new league of lame that he wasn’t sure he was ready for. Nonetheless, Renjun is excited by this stupid club, so Chenle agrees to give it a try. It’s an excuse to get out of class and to put his passion for photography to use.

“I’ll try it out,” Chenle says at the end of the long, boring meeting, “ _if_ you buy me meals for the next week. And I say _try out,_ not join!”

Renjun smiles and Chenle knows that he’s whipped for his best friend in that moment. He’s actually going to try to like this stupid club. But only, and only if it makes Renjun happy and it’s not the most terrible thing he’s ever done.

“You have to treat me to a milkshake for making me sit through that stupid meeting,” Chenle grumbles as they walk out onto the school yard.

“What are you so whiny for today?” Renjun asks, bumping his shoulder against Chenle’s with a small smile.

“It’s only the second day back at school and I want to die,” Chenle says.

Chenle ducks as a soccer ball flies past his head, barely skimming his purple hair as he gets down. He screams and gives Renjun a pointed look when he straightens.

“Someone else wants me dead, too,” he says breathlessly.

“You mind giving that back?!!?” someone shouts from the field.

Renjun picks up the soccer ball as Chenle turns to see who almost decapitated him. God, he has decided, definitely wants him dead today. His toes sting with how fast his heart drops to them. His mind is buzzing, but it’s not making any words. Finally, he utters out:

“Who _is_ that?”

“What?” Renjun asks.

“W—who?”

A smirk dances at Renjun’s lips as he stares at Chenle’s baffled look.

“You mean that boy who just tried to take your head off with a soccer ball?”

“C….crop top,” Chenle says uselessly. “And _eye liner_ …..”

His mind is screaming. It sounds like the music from Psycho in his ears as he continues to stare. If Chenle wasn’t sure of how gay he was, he knew now that this boy owned his life. He just sold his soul to some asshole kid in a baby blue crop top who almost killed him with a soccer ball. And Chenle is perfectly fine with it.

“His name’s Jisung Park,” Renjun says. “You better pick your jaw up off the ground before we go.”

Chenle’s mind is so muddled that all he hears is “pick up”. So he tries to stoop down to pick up whatever Renjun was referring to, causing Renjun to burst into a fit of laughter. He stumbles under the weight of Renjun’s hand pressing on his back.

“Oh god, we’re going to be late!” Renjun laughs. “We’re supposed to meet Jeno!”

Chenle’s mind is still muddled with the image of the boy in the sunshine. Renjun tugs at his shoulder and Chenle almost trips over his own feet trying to keep up. As they walk away, he catches another glimpse of the boy in the crop top. Something is glinting in the sunlight as he runs by and Chenle feels existential dread pool in his stomach. Fuck, the kid has a piercing.

-

“What took you so long?” Jeno complains when they sit down.

“Chenle lost his shit after some kid almost murdered him with a soccer ball,” Renjun replies, sliding his milkshake glass across the table.

They tease Chenle relentlessly about his near-death experience. As Chenle’s mind keeps replaying the event, Renjun and Jeno launch into conversations about school and the new kids. They talk about going to some game on Saturday and some kid called Jaemin.

“Did you see that one kid today with blue hair and a blue crop top?” Jeno asks, pulling Chenle out of his daze. “He looked like an asshole with his hair matching his shirt.”

“Yeah,” Chenle murmurs, recalling the boy who almost took his head off.

_But he’s a hot asshole_ , his mind whispers. Chenle realizes he’s reaching rock bottom. He’s already in love with some kid who almost took his head off with a soccer ball. A kid with blue hair and a blue crop top and a piercing that makes Chenle want to hurl himself off of a cliff.

“So are you coming to the soccer game on Saturday?” Jeno asks Chenle.

Right, they must’ve talked about it while Chenle was caught up thinking about the boy with the blue hair.

“You can take pictures from the yearbook!” Renjun says.

-

Chenle only sees the boy in the crop top a few times in the next month. He spends his time with Renjun and Jeno, gossiping and going to whatever game is happening that weekend. He takes pictures of the teams when he goes, half for himself and half for the yearbook. The yearbook director is thrilled when he shows them to her, and Chenle feels pride swell in his chest as he shows her the ones he’s been collecting over the month.

It isn’t until they go to a volleyball game that he sees the kid again and his heart drops. It’s not hard to miss him, and he hopes it’s a fluke when he sees a flash of blue in the crowd. If he seems distant and panicked, Renjun and Jeno don’t mention it as they struggle to find a good seat before they’re all taken. The game doesn’t start for another 10 minutes, and Chenle’s lost in his own head, so he doesn’t even try to look for the blue haired kid again. He gets sucked into the game, and he’s a moron for not noticing the blue haired boy is on the team.

-

There’s a boy on the team named Donghyuck that Chenle loves photographing. The boy is tan, his legs are muscular, and he radiates charisma. Chenle can’t take his eyes off of Donghyuck whenever he goes to the games. He’s a fucking moron for not catching the boy with the fading blue hair playing as the blocker.

-

Yearbook goes well for another few weeks. Chenle takes more pictures and the yearbook teacher raves about how good they are. When she picks a few out for the yearbook, Chenle would be lying if he said he wasn’t bothered by how small the selection is. It lingers at the back of his mind, nagging him that she’d only picked 3 photos of the soccer games. Sure, the season was still going for another few months, but she’d totally overlooked some of the most high-quality ones.

Chenle’s grown to like yearbook. He’s made a lot of friends and taken excellent pictures of the teams in action. Only a few of them are blurry in places. It’s work he’s proud of. And work that will barely get displayed in the yearbook. He loves Renjun, his yearbook friends, taking the photos, and the club itself. But he can’t shake the fact that so few of his pictures are going to get to shine.

-

It takes a week of contemplating. Chenle doesn’t want to quit the yearbook, but he knows he can’t be happy if this is all his photography is going toward. He’s sitting down outside the track weighing his options when Renjun drops by for a visit.

“You look pissed,” Renjun comments, sitting down beside Chenle.

“I like this and all, but I don’t think it’s worth my time.”

“What isn’t?”

Chenle sighs deeply. He knows how much this means to Renjun. He genuinely did try his best to like it.

“Yearbook,” he admits quietly.

Instead of hurt or upset, Renjun looks confused.

“What do you mean? You’re always talking about yearbook. You love the volleyball games! You’re always raving about how much you love taking photos of Donghyuck in action. He has so much charisma and you’re always so proud of how your pictures turn out. Have you been lying to me this whole time?”

“No, but that’s the problem.”

“What is?”

“The pictures!”

“They’re good, Chenle.”

“I know! And it kills me that the yearbook is only gonna use about 15 of them! I joined to get my pictures shown! I can’t showcase my true talent in 15 pictures that aren’t getting released until May! It’s September!”

“Then just quit, Chenle.”

Chenle throws his head back with a groan.

“I don’t want to! I love yearbook, but I love my pictures, too!”

Renjun is quiet for a while. Finally, he stands and offers a hand to Chenle.

“Come on. This crisis calls for some ramen.”

-

The trip to the convenience store does nothing to help Chenle’s dilemma, but it takes a weight off of his shoulders. Renjun is quiet and understanding, yet he offers no solutions to Chenle’s problem. They go to Jeno the next day, and he is stumped too.

Chenle’s starting to feel like there’s no hope. He’s just going to have to live with the fact that his photography isn’t going to shine like he wants it to. His pride stings and he’s unhappy about it, but he still wants to go through with getting his pictures in the yearbook.

-

“You’ve been sulking for the past 4 days,” Jeno says at lunch.

“There’s no point in sharing my photography if people are only going to see about 30 percent of the pictures I take!! I joined yearbook to showcase my talent! The teacher’s only picked 7 of my pictures of the soccer team! In what world would I be happy with that?!?”

Jeno pats his back gently as Chenle bangs his head on the table. He drops his chopsticks on his tray to put his palm in front of Chenle’s forehead.

“We’ll figure something out,” Jeno says.

He knows he doesn’t sound convincing. To be fair, Jeno doesn’t know much about photography at all. He just knows about being on the student council and the baseball team. Chenle’s pictures are good, but Jeno can’t tell you anything technical about them.

“What’s his problem?” Renjun asks, sitting across from them, tray sliding onto the lunch table.

“What do you think?”

“Chenle, are you a good writer?”

“I’m not doing a paper for you,” he says, lifting his head from Jeno’s hand.

Jeno winces and flexes his fingers, knuckles red from being bashed against the table by Chenle’s head. They’re probably going to bruise.

“Oh god, I would never trust you with my school work,” Renjun says. “How would you feel about being on the school newspaper?”

“You want me to find a new hobby because I can’t sustain the photography?” Chenle asks.

Chenle looks frustrated, and the hurt leaks into his voice more than he would like for it to. It was so thrilling to get the opportunity to be on yearbook and show off his photos. But now any chance of happiness it would bring him is diminished, because his best ones aren’t even going to see the light of day.

“How would you feel about having a meeting with the leader of the sports section of the school newspaper?” Renjun asks.

“What good is that going to do me!?!?”

“If he likes you, he’ll let you do reports on the games and use your pictures in the paper.”

“When would they publish them?” Chenle asks.

Renjun doesn’t miss the way his eyes light up, or the way his shoulders lift themselves from their dejected state.

“Weekly.”

“How many pictures would appear?”

“They usually do about 10 per game,” Jeno replies, recalling the spread the paper does for the baseball team. “And they pick a star player of the week and interview them and take pictures of them, too.”

Chenle’s head rushes with all the possibilities. The thought of publishing 10 photos for one game per week fills him with joy. If he went to multiple games, it’d be even more. And if he interviews team members, there’s the ability to take artsy shots. He’d be able to practice posing people and doing portrait work instead of candids.

“When could I meet him?” Chenle asks.

“Uh, Wednesday after school in the art room? It’s his last class of the day and he’ll be finishing up a project, but he just wants to get a feel of your personality.”

-

Chenle’s leg shakes the entire day in anticipation. Two of his teachers call him out on it, but he can’t be bothered to care. At the end of the day, he almost forgets where the art room is. His mind is going a million miles per minute as he grabs his camera out of his bag and runs up the stairs.

Renjun almost stumbles into him as he’s leaving the art classroom.

“Good luck,” he smiles, squeezing Chenle’s shoulder affectionately.

The crowd of kids disperses and Chenle peeks around the door. There’s a kid in glasses sitting at a table, painting a canvas with a peaceful expression. He’s blonde and Chenle’s hands feel clammy as he takes a step into the room. He wasn’t expecting to be interviewed by someone so cute.

The boy looks up as Chenle bumps into a table. His cheeks are burning in shame as he makes eye contact with him. The boy smiles and Chenle feels his soul wilt. Fuck.

“Hi! You must be Chenle!”

Chenle’s so nervous he almost forgets to correct the pronunciation of his name.

“Yeah….Chenle,” he croaks. Fuck, why is his throat so dry right now? “I came to talk to you about joining the school newspaper.”

The kid stands up from his seat, the easel scraping roughly against the floor. He holds out a hand, and Chenle remembers to give him a firm handshake. But he also remembers how cold and clammy his hands are, so he wipes them on his jeans when the boy lets go.

“I’m Jae, it’s nice to meet you. I run the sports section of the newspaper. You’re, uh, the aspiring photographer?”

“Yeah! I’m in yearbook but I want more people to see my work, so I decided the sports section of the newspaper was the place to be.”

His voice is a little strained, and hopefully Jae takes it as nerves over the ‘interview’ and not because Chenle’s mind is screaming to him about how cute this boy is. He hasn’t seen the blue haired boy in about a month now, and he’s the last thing on Chenle’s mind in the moment.

-

The meeting is a little awkward, but Jae is nice and friendly. He praises Chenle endlessly when he sees the photos he’s taken at the games. Chenle’s a blushing mess, trying to deny that they’re even worth that kind of praise. Jae smiles at him and Chenle’s heart melts. He thinks he’s in love.

He joins the school newspaper and meets the other people on the team the next day at lunch. They’re all nice and he’s still flustered around Jae. He’s wearing red plaid and it’s at lunch that Chenle notices Jae’s glasses are prescription and not for style. His soul’s been spiraling into a pit of utter despair.

-

“We’re gonna get to know the teams a little bit more so you know who to interview and who sparks the interest of the student body the most. We tend to interview the friendly, more personable people or the ones who work hard to be good in their sport.”

Jae introduces him to the soccer team and they have a small interview with the kids. They spend a little longer on the new members of the team. Jae tells him that sometimes they do a small article for the newbies about their up and coming sport “stars.” Chenle enjoys meeting all the new people, and there’s a girl named Min Sook that he really likes.

“If you have time, we can go get a milkshake and discuss your position and duties as a writer for the sports section?” Jae offers as they walk off the soccer field.

Chenle’s already forgotten about the kid who almost took his head off. He hasn’t seen him in about a month now. He’s too busy thinking about how he’s on an almost date with the cute nerdy upperclassman on the newspaper. Chenle’s glad he didn’t suggest a convenience store. Eating ramen in front of such a hot boy is a recipe for something embarrassing to happen.

-

“Why did Sicheng text me last night asking me if you were on a date?” Renjun asks when Chenle walks into school the next morning.

“A date? Why did Sicheng think I was on a date?”

Renjun holds up his phone and there’s a photo of Chenle smiling at a boy.

“Chenle, you’re blushing! You went on a date and didn’t tell me?”

“It wasn’t a date! He’s just the cute boy who runs the sports section of the paper,” Chenle murmurs. “I wish it was a date…..”

“You’re such a hopeless gay,” Renjun sighs, pulling Chenle into a side hug.

“We’re meeting the volleyball team after school today. I finally get to see that Donghyuck kid,” Chenle says, changing the subject before Renjun can tease him about his crush on Jae.

“The volleyball team? You mean you’re gonna be meeting Na Jaemin today?” Renjun asks.

“Na Jaemin?”

“Chenle, he’s the biggest flirt in the school. He’s like, one of the kids everybody in the school has a crush on!”

“I guess, then,” Chenle shrugs.

“He’s the one with the pretty smile,” Renjun says.

“That’s not helpful,” Chenle complains.

“Oh trust me, you’ll know it when you see it.”

_It’s not like he’ll be any competition to Jae_ , Chenle’s mind whispers.

-

Jeno is also highly interested in the fact that Chenle is going to be meeting the volleyball team before they have practice. Chenle doesn’t get what their fascination is with this Na Jaemin kid. He’s jut some volleyball playing kid who apparently has a nice smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chenle and Jisung finally meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miss this fic it's so much fun to read back on. i tried and tried for 3 months to continue it but everybody forgot about it and i gave up. this was the first fic i ever posted and i really regret never finishing it

“Ready to go meet the team?” Jae asks Chenle when they meet at the art room. “I told Coach Choi that we’d be dropping by.”

Chenle nods and hangs his camera around his neck with a smile. He’s been dying to be able to chat with the Donghyuck kid about volleyball. He wonders if the kid is as charismatic in person as he is in the game.

-

The boys are running around the gym, roughhousing and chattering loudly with each other. A few of them are setting up the net while Coach Choi looks over something on his clipboard. Jae tells him to pick a random group of boys to start chatting with, and Chenle’s feeling shy so he picks a few boys who are calmly chattering amongst each other on the sidelines. They’re nice, but a little boring, so he lets Jae direct him to a group of his choice.

“Whoa kid, who dipped you in the Kool-Aid?” someone asks, making Chenle turn around.

He ruffles his hair self consciously and turns so that he’s face to face with the Donghyuck kid. Chenle’s heart leaps into his throat. The kid is handsome, with red hair and a deeply tanned complexion. He’s pretty up close.

“Leave him alone, Hyuck,” Jae scolds. “It’s his first week on the job, he’s nervous.”

“I don’t bite unless he asks me to,” Donghyuck replies, making Chenle blush. “That’s a little too kinky for a first meeting.”

Donghyuck gets slapped by Jae and the kid standing beside him. He continues to smile, unbothered by the scolding. Instead, he sticks out a hand and runs it through Chenle’s purple hair. Chenle’s even more flustered now that he’s so up close and personal with _the_ Lee Donghyuck.

“You’re pretty I really like the pictures of you at games,” Chenle blurts out.

He slaps a hand over his mouth as the kid next to Donghyuck yanks the offending hand out of Chenle’s hair. Donghyuck’s laughing, pulling him into a rough hug.

“Thanks, kid.”

“Look at the poor kid, he’s gonna have a stroke if you keep being an asshole.”

“This is Mark,” Jae says “He’s Donghyuck’s wrangler.”

“So….”

“Chenle.”

“Chenle, what made you want to join the school newspaper?” Mark asks.

“I wanted to be able to share my photography with people. And I love sports like volleyball and baseball. It gives me a chance to get to know the players better. I’m already at almost every game anyways, and I love photography so I figured why not?”

“Hey fucks. We bullying a new kid?” someone asks, slinging an arm around Donghyuck.

Chenle blinks a few times as he comes face to face with the kid who is most definitely Na Jaemin. His smile is blindingly beautiful. But it’s also one he knows.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know Dong Sicheng, would you?” Jaemin asks after staring at Chenle for a moment.

“He’s my cousin,” Chenle replies, confused.

“Do you remember that sleepover with Sicheng and Kim Doyoung, by any chance?” Jaemin asks.

Then it clicks. He’s met Na Jaemin a couple of times before. Kim Doyoung is friends with Sicheng, and Chenle was forced to hang around them when he first moved to Korea. Na Jaemin used to tag along and play soccer with Chenle in the park. It’s been years since they’ve talked to each other.

“Oh, you’re _that_ kid?!? I hear a lot about you, I didn’t make the connection!”

-

Chenle slowly meets the rest of the team and they’re all quite friendly and funny. He’s filtering through all of them and Jaemin’s decided to attach himself to Chenle. Chenle wonders if Jaemin remembers exactly what happened at the party they went to when he was 10.

At some point, he’s trying to find his way back to Jae when he’s walking backwards and runs into someone. He turns to apologize and the words die in his throat as he makes eye contact with the boy he ran into. His mouth dries up and he forgets how to speak. The blue hair and the eyeliner is the only thing running through his mind.

“My bad,” the boy says, going to turn away.

“I really like your eyeliner!!”

Chenle winces at the words fly out of his mouth before he can stop them. The boy with blue hair looks confused, and touches a finger to the makeup.

“Thanks,” he replies. “Are you part of the team or something? I’ve never seen you before.”

Chenle jumps out of his skin when someone suddenly slings an arm around his shoulders. He sees the blue haired kid smirk a little at the reaction.

“There you are! Thought we lost ya, kiddo!” Jaemin crows, reaching up to ruffle Chenle’s hair. “I see you met Jisung.”

“Yeah, we ran into each other,” Jisung replies flatly, “kinda literally.”

“He’s our new resident nerd. He wants to take Jae’s place as the team’s reporter.”

“I don’t wanna take his place,” Chenle says quickly, waving his hands. “I just want to be the photographer—”

“Kid, you’re never gonna make it if you can’t take the teasing,” Jisung says, shaking his head.

Chenle feels his heart fall as Jisung walks away. So much for making a good impression. He didn’t know why he thought he could get an in with a volleyball player. Chenle was just some dumb nerd who liked comic books and taking pictures. He would never be able to compete with the jock kids that were surely flocking toward Jisung.

“Sorry about him,” Jaemin says, pulling Chenle away from his thoughts. “He’s been a brat all week. He’s being an ass about it and won’t talk, so just bear with him.”

Jaemin leads him back to the group with Donghyuck, Mark, and Jae. They’re all playing a game of 20 Questions so Chenle can get to know them better. Jisung does join him at some point, but Chenle is feeling disheartened by Jisung’s mood and doesn’t make the effort to interact with him more. Jaemin has already adopted him as a baby brother, and they tell each other about Doyoung and Sicheng and remember the days of soccer and ice cream cones in the park.

-

“So did you meet him?!?” Renjun asks when Chenle arrives at school the next morning.

“Meet who?”

“Na Jaemin!” Jeno says with a huff like Chenle’s supposed to know who they’re talking about.

“Oh yeah.”

Jeno shakes him as they walk down the hallway.

“Yeah, and???”

“And he was Na Jaemin, what do you mean?”

Renjun looks offended that Chenle isn’t nearly as interested in Na Jaemin as they are. Chenle doesn’t get what the big deal is. Jaemin’s just a normal kid. Well, he’s prettier than most kids in their school, but there’s nothing that makes him better than anybody else they know.

“Was he nice to you?” Renjun asks.

“Of course he was.”

“What was he like?”

“Friendly. Nice. Funny. Energetic,” Chenle lists off the top of his head.

“Was he pretty?” Jeno asks.

“Yeah.”

“His smile’s gorgeous, right? I told you so,” Renjun says.

“It’s pretty,” Chenle replies half-heartedly.

His head is spinning with the influx of questions being thrown out on either side of him. He doesn’t get why Renjun and Jeno are so interested in some random volleyball player in their grade. He’s pretty sure Jeno has class with Jaemin, though he’s not too sure about Renjun. He figured Jeno would know Jaemin, considering Donghyuck is also on the baseball team with him.

“Why are you acting like Jaemin isn’t a big deal?” Renjun asks.

“He’s cool,” Chenle says. “I know him. We met at a sleepover Sicheng dragged me to when I moved to Korea.”

“YOU WHAT?” Jeno shouts, making Chenle’s ears ring.

“Yeah, he knows Kim Doyoung. We all played spin the bottle and I kissed him like, 4 years ago? You guys make him out to be some huge deal.”

“YOU DIDN’T TELL ME YOU KNEW NA JAEMIN!” Renjun accuses.

“YOU DIDN’T TELL US YOU KISSED HIM, EITHER!”

“IT WAS WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO KOREA. I BARELY KNEW HOW TO GREET PEOPLE, WHY WOULD I REMEMBER HIS NAME?”

Jeno punches him in the arm, making Chenle yelp and whine.

“WHY ARE YOU ABUSING ME?? IT’S NOT MY FAULT I DIDN’T KNOW!” he wails.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU KISSED NA JAEMIN AND DIDN’T TELL US!”

-

Renjun and Jeno only speak to Chenle to complain at him about Na Jaemin for the rest of the day. Chenle escapes to Jae’s table during lunch to discuss the school newspaper instead of having to hear about Jaemin. He can’t figure out why Renjun and Jeno are so mad at him for simply knowing Jaemin. It’s not like he planned to meet Jaemin when he was 10. Sicheng just liked to drag him around to “help him get to know Korea” and Doyoung was Jaemin’s mentor who wanted him to make more friends.

When Jaemin approaches him at the volleyball game on Saturday night, he dreads what Renjun and Jeno are going to say.

“Hey, Chenle! Hyuck sent me to tell you that you gotta take pretty pictures of him tonight!” Jaemin shouts over the roar of the crowd.

Chenle hops down the remainder of the stairs to get closer to Jaemin. Renjun and Jeno shadow him almost immediately.

“You got some bodyguards?” Jaemin laughs, eying them.

“These are my friends, Renjun and Jeno! They’re huge fans of the volleyball team.”

“Well with Jisung as blocker and the way Hyuck’s dumbass is going to play tonight, we’ll be sure to make a good impression!” Jaemin says with a smile and a nod to them. “He told me he’s gonna play extra good so you’ll only take pictures of him.”

“I might take pictures of you and Jisung just to smite him!” Chenle says over the crowd.

“Please!” Jaemin smiles. “You’d make my day!”

Coach Choi starts shouting, the noise making a sizeable dent in the roar of the crowd. Jaemin shakes his head and holds out a fist.

“See ya later, kid!”

Chenle grins and bumps his fist again Jaemin’s. Renjun and Jeno look like they’re burning with jealousy as Chenle turns to go back to their seats.

“Are you two seriously mad at me for accidentally being Na Jaemin’s friend?”

At the silent glares, Chenle sighs.

“God, I’ll try to fucking introduce you or something,” he says.

-

Jae gets to pick the star player of the week, and when Chenle comes to the school newspaper’s meeting place, he is informed that it will be Park Jisung. He can’t help but agree, because the kid played even better than Hyuck promised he would.

“They’re working on sets and serves today so if you could go pull a few of them out of practice and ask for their take on the game, that’d be great. Catch Jisung whenever you want, but it needs to be before Thursday so we can format the paper.”

Chenle’s footsteps are loud in the quiet hallway as he shuffles toward the gym. His fingers shake as he holds onto the pen and paper. He’s wary of how the interview with Jisung is going to go. He isn’t sure why Jisung was so annoyed at their first meeting, but Chenle feels like he’s personally offended him.

The gym is hot and there’s a bunch of boys shouting and fighting each other for the ball. Practice has been going on for about 10 minutes, and they’re already sweaty and out of breath. Chenle’s chest feels like an elephant’s sitting on it. They’re all in spandex. Fuck his life.

-

“You look nervous,” Jaemin says when he plops down beside Chenle at the bleachers.

“It’s my first interview for the paper.”

“And the sweaty boys in spandex is a little overwhelming to your poor gay mind?”

“Little bit,” Chenle admits.

“It’s no wonder most of the team is full of raging homosexuals. Volleyball practice is like a gay wonderland. So many sweaty boys with nice thighs in little shorts.”

He tries to keep his eyes off of Jaemin’s biceps. He’s sweating and wearing a tank top and the tiniest shorts Chenle’s ever seen. Jaemin teasingly asks him why he’s blushing and he knows he’s been caught.

“It takes some getting used to,” Jaemin snickers. “Luckily I don’t have a crush on any of these dumb fucks, so it makes my life a lot easier.”

Chenle can’t relate. All he can think about is how he’s going to have to run into Jisung and interview him for the school newspaper. He’s going to have to take pictures of him and be alone with him. His fingers clutch the pen as he thinks about it. Jaemin’s the type to make everyone become friends, and he feels the dread in the pit of his stomach. He just knows he’s going to have to see Jisung during practice. In those tiny shorts and tank top and his headband. Chenle gulps.

“Please don’t have a stroke,” Jaemin says. “None of the halfwits here would be very helpful in that situation. Well, maybe Mark, but still.”

“So, uh, the game on Saturday….”

Jaemin snorts.

“Sorry, that sounded really Straight of you. Keep going.”

Jaemin is helpful, and he talks animatedly about the game. He drags Mark over at some point to take his place, and Donghyuck provides hilarious commentary that Chenle would be stupid to not publish in the paper. His brain short circuits for a moment when he sees Hyuck’s skin glowing with sweat. Hyuck has the best thighs out of the team, and Chenle’s mouth goes dry when Hyuck trots up to the bleachers, looking smug that he gets to slack off during practice.

“Who’s the star player this week?” Mark asks after Donghyuck makes them both laugh talking about the team they played on Saturday.

The one subject he was hoping to avoid for a few more days makes his fingers shake as he tries to keep hold of his pen.

“Jisung,” he says quietly.

Hyuck shakes his head.

“He’s not that bad,” he says. “But sometimes he gets in a mood and he’s the worst little shithead you’re ever going to meet. Lucky for you, he’s not pissed off anymore!”

Chenle’s not sure that’s a good thing. If Jisung ends up being friendly or nice to him, Chenle’s going to want to dig his grave and lie in it. The thought of being on good terms with Jisung means that things could lead to a friendship. And then Chenle’s going to be stuck with his big fat crush on Jisung and he knows he’s never going to be good enough for him. There are probably more athletic kids worth his time, like maybe Jeno. Or Hyuck.

“When are you going to interview him?” Mark asks.

“I’m not sure—”

“JISUNG PARK, GET YOUR DUMB ASS OVER HERE!”

Mark looks annoyed at Donghyuck, and Chenle’s too busy panicking to do the same. He digs his nails into his palms and takes a shaking breath as Jisung walks through the other boys. He’s impossible to miss. He’s tall and his hair is electric blue.

“What do you want?” Jisung whines.

Chenle breaks the cap off the pen as soon as Jisung is in front of him. He’s wearing a yellow crop top and if Chenle thought Jaemin’s shorts were short, then Jisung’s may as well be underwear. The spandex is riding up on Jisung’s thighs and it looks like it’s struggling to stay on. Chenle’s mind is everywhere but in the moment. His sanity flew out the window the moment he saw Jisung in the spandex and shorts.

“One of the dumbasses on the school paper thinks _you’re_ worthy of being star player this week,” Donghyuck says.

Chenle’s heart leaps in his throat when Jisung’s eyes meet his. He’s pretty sure he’s sweating. He can’t tell if it’s from the humidity of the gym or how nervous he is.

“He looks like he’s gonna pass out,” Jisung notes.

“Go interview with him where there’s air conditioning, then,” Hyuck says, rolling his eyes and hopping off the bench. “See ya later, kid.”

Mark pats his shoulder as they walk away, and then Jisung’s left standing in front of him in silence. His gaze is hot on Chenle’s skin and he clears his throat, snapping Chenle back to reality.

“Are you interviewing me or not?”

Chenle nods silently, not trusting his voice in front of Jisung. He shakily makes his way onto the floor from the bleachers and Jisung eyes him warily. He almost trips on somebody’s stray duffle bag and he feels a strong grip on his arm keep him steady.

“Sorry,” he says quietly.

Looking up to see Jisung’s reaction proves to be the worst idea in that moment. As soon as Chenle looks up, he sees two things: Jisung’s look of suspicion and worry, and the fact that Jisung’s not wearing eye liner at practice. His head is spinning, and he barely registers the look of concern as Jisung tugs him out of the gym and into the hall.

“I was joking about you passing out,” Jisung says weakly. “Please don’t do that, I don’t know how to deal with that.”

Jisung’s face looks softer and more friendly without the eyeliner. Chenle notices how soft Jisung’s cheeks are, and how narrow his nose is. Jisung looks like a model up close. Chenle’s not sure when they wound up in the hall. Did he sit on the ground or did Jisung put him there? He’s too busy trying to get his brain back in order as he stares wordlessly at Jisung. To his credit, Jisung doesn’t look put off at the stare. He just looks worried and slightly awkward.

“You’re not gonna barf or anything, are you?”

Chenle has the sense to shake his head at the question. His head clears up a little, and he realizes he looks like an absolute moron in front of Park Jisung. He looks like a mess and Jisung’s getting a front row seat to it all, crouching down a few feet away.

“We can do the interview later?” Jisung suggests.

To put himself out of his misery, he nods.

“Wednesday?” Chenle suggests, voice cracking.

He winces, and Jisung nods.

“Is there, uh, some place I can take you or something? I can’t leave you here and Coach is gonna go apeshit if I go MIA during practice.”

“Art room?” he suggests.

Jisung looks unsure.

“I can tell you where to go,” Chenle says. “Promise.”

Jisung doesn’t look like he trusts him, but he nods anyways and offers Chenle a hand. The stairs are hard to clear with his weak knees, but they both make it to the art room eventually. Renjun, as expected, is working on a project inside and looks confused.

“He’s feeling a little sick,” Jisung says simply.

“I’m sorry,” Chenle murmurs.

“Go home and get some rest or something, yeah?” Jisung says when he hands Chenle off to Renjun.

“What happened to you?” Renjun asks after Jisung closes the door.

Chenle shakes his head and sits on the table. _So much for making an impression_ , he thinks bitterly, embarrassed tears pooling in his eyes. He’s never going to be able to face Jisung now. Jisung’s only going to remember him as the kid who’s a mess and who tried to pass out during what was supposed to be an interview. Renjun doesn’t say anything about the tears streaming down his cheeks, and Chenle’s glad he doesn’t mention it.

-

Jisung comes back to practice looking a little worse for wear. He’s acting quiet and fidgety and he screws up every play he attempts. He’s so lost in his head he barely notices how much Coach Choi is shouting at him for fucking up yet another play.

“Okay, what the fuck happened to you?”

Jisung looks up from his food, confused.

“I dunno, what happened to me?” he asks.

“Ever since you went for that interview with Chenle you’ve been stuck in your head,” Jaemin says. “You fucked up at practice, which you never do. What the fuck happened during that interview?’

“The kid—”

“Chenle,” Jaemin interrupts.

“Chenle,” Jisung says, “got really nervous and he flipped his shit. He was really pale and shaky, and I had to take him to the art room to calm down. I guess his first day on the job was too much for him? He said he’d interview me tomorrow but he was so embarrassed and he looked like he was gonna cry. It’s gonna be really awkward if we mention it during the interview.”

“His nerves and the gym being too hot must’ve gotten to him,” Jaemin says.

“What do I do? Just pretend I don’t remember it? I don’t wanna be an asshole and bring it up. He probably doesn’t wanna talk about it.”

Jaemin thinks for a moment, and then nods his head thoughtfully.

“He probably doesn’t want you to just know him as the kid who had a panic attack during an interview. I don’t think there’d be any harm in just letting it go and starting fresh,” Jaemin says.

Jisung nods and vows that he’ll try his best not to fuck up and mention it. It’s best to let the kid feel like he’s getting a fresh start. Pretending he doesn’t remember will make everything run smoothly.

-

Chenle runs into Jisung after school in the halls the next day. Jisung’s on the way to the vending machine as Chenle’s walking towards the gym to find him.

“Hey, Jisung!” he calls with a wince.

He’s feeling nervous. He doesn’t know how Jisung’s going to act after he embarrassed himself so bad the other day. He clutches his camera a little harder as he thinks about it. His throat goes dry as Jisung looks up at him. He’s wearing the eyeliner again, and the baby blue crop top he was wearing on the day he almost decapitated Chenle. If he was nervous now, Jisung’s tummy peeking out of the shirt just sent his nerves into overdrive.

“Can I interview you now?”

“Um, I guess. Who are you again? I feel like I’ve seen you around before,” Jisung says, looking down to count his money.

 

Chenle has to take a deep breath, trying to will his eyes away from Jisung’s stomach. He licks his lips, panicking when he realizes that Jisung was asking him a question.

 

“I’m Chenle, I photograph the sports section for the yearbook. And I help write the school newspaper articles on the volleyball team.”

 

Chenle almost faints as Jisung lifts his arm to press the button on the vending machine. The more of his stomach that gets exposed, the more Chenle feels his self-control slipping away. His hands are beginning to shake as he shyly sneaks a look at Jisung’s side profile. He’s much prettier up close and Chenle’s not sure how much longer he can handle it.

 

“Oh yeah, I’ve seen you in the crowd before,” Jisung says.

 

Chenle nearly chokes on his own spit. He wants the fucking ground to eat him up. Jisung Park knows who he is.  

 

“You have?” he asks.

 

“With that hair?” Jisung snorts. “It’s hard not to.”

 

His heart falters and disappointment floods his entire being as he reaches up to ruffle the purple hair he’d temporarily forgotten he was sporting. Right. He and Jisung were one of the few people in their school with colorful hair. He doesn’t even remember that he’s nervous anymore. His heart’s just fallen to the floor. Jisung really doesn’t remember who he is.

 

Chenle feels sadness well up in him as he realizes that even with the interview disaster of yesterday, Jisung Park doesn’t find him memorable. Even though he almost cried in front of him and had to be personally escorted to the art room, Jisung’s forgotten about him in the span of a day. Was he really so forgettable?

 

“Uh, can we talk about you being this week’s star player?” Chenle mumbles.

 

Well, at least he’s not nervous anymore. The interview’s probably easier this way. Even if his heart is aching and pounding in his chest.

 

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Jisung asks.

 

Chenle clears his throat, trying to fight away the dull ache.

 

“Right,” he says. “Could you tell me what got you into volleyball and what made you want to join the team?”

 

The more he talks to Jisung, the longer the feeling of sadness lingers. Chenle can’t help but stare at him and think about how his crush didn’t even bother to remember him whatsoever. It’d only been a day since they’d last seen each other. He was right about never having a chance with Jisung.

 

When it comes time to take pictures, Chenle refrains from touching Jisung to pose him as often as possible. His hands shake a little when he’s moving Jisung’s arm into a certain position and when Jisung’s hovering over his camera to look over the photos with him. Chenle can’t even be nervous about it. After all, Jisung had clearly demonstrated that he didn’t give a shit about Chenle.

 

Chenle knows he’s not the most popular kid in the school by a long shot. But he figured Jisung would at least remember him for almost bursting into tears and nearly passing out in front of him. Chenle frowns and bites his lip with a sigh as he thinks about how concerned Jisung looked the other day. Where was that Jisung now? Why had he suddenly been replaced with this one? The one who didn’t bother to remember him, their agreed interview, or what had happened.

 

“I’ll see you around, kid,” Jisung calls down the hallways as Chenle walks down the hall to deliver his interview to Jae.

 

Chenle doesn’t linger in the room where the other kids working on the newspaper are. The tears start falling as soon as he reaches the boy’s bathroom.

 

-

 

Chenle’s still crying a little bit when he gets home. If his mother notices as he ducks through the door, she doesn’t comment on it. She looks suspicious of him when he doesn’t crawl out of bed for dinner, and when she checks on him before she goes to bed, he’s still lying in the same position.

“Come on, what’s bothering you?” she asks, pulling his head into her lap.

She ruffles his hair with her fingers as Chenle sighs.

“I just don’t feel good,” he mumbles.

It’s not a lie. He feels like shit. He feels embarrassed and mortified. He wants the world to swallow him up so he never has to see Park Jisung ever again. At the thought of having to face Jisung again, he tears up. His mother’s fingers pause as she hears the sniffle.

“Chenle, sweetie, what’s wrong?”

“I feel like crap,” he says.

She feels his forehead for a temperature. He knows there isn’t a temperature there. He knows his mother knows, too. So when she sighs and pulls a hand away, he isn’t expecting her to say:

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to skip school tomorrow.”

-

Renjun’s texts are gentle and kind when Chenle doesn’t show up at school the next morning. He doesn’t push the subject of why Chenle was crying in the art room or why he’s not at school. He sends a few funny pictures of Jeno during lunch and Chenle smiles from his cocoon of blankets. Neither of his parents comment on the fact that Chenle’s been laying in bed wallowing in his self-pity all day.

His eyes are swollen from crying and he’s tired. He comes out to eat dinner, but he mostly just moves his food around on the plate and stares listlessly at the table.

“Not even gonna pick up the camera and head to the park, huh?” his mom asks when she walks into his room after dinner.

“I don’t feel like it,” Chenle whispers from the blankets.

“Okay, what gives? Who are you and what did you do with my son?”

“Am I really that forgettable?” he asks, laying his head in his mother’s lap.

“Of course not! You’re Zhong Chenle! You’re happy and bubbly and you have a cute laugh and a bright personality. You’re loving and kind and thoughtful. You love your friends and helping people and you love photography and making people smile. What in the world is there to forget when you’re so wonderful? Who forgot you?”

“Do you remember that boy from the volleyball team?”

“Jaemin?”

“No, the other one,” Chenle says. “Jisung.”

“How did he forget you, baby?” his mom asks, rubbing his back gently.

When he finishes his talk with his mother, he’s tired and teary eyed. As he stares listlessly at the wall, he hears her talking with his father.

“Well, he still has a ‘temperature’,” she says, and Chenle can hear the air quotes in her voice. “One more day can’t hurt.”

-

“How did the interview thing go?” Jaemin asks Jisung at practice the day after.

“He wasn’t that nervous! He didn’t talk much, but he wasn’t shaking and ready to pass out anymore. I think pretending that I forgot him worked!”

“Wait, what?”

“What? That’s what we agreed on, wasn’t it? That I forgot him?”

Jaemin groans and smacks his head into a locker.

“I MEANT FORGET THAT THE FAILED INTERVIEW HAPPENED, YOU MORON!! NOT WHO CHENLE WAS!!” he wails.

“Oh, um. Well……..he wasn’t nervous?” Jisung says.

Jaemin hits his head against the locker again.

“You’re so fucking stupid, Jisung. You watched him have a panic attack; you walked him to the art room for fuck’s sake. WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU FORGET THAT?!?!”

“I DON’T KNOW I WAS JUST DOING WHAT YOU TOLD ME TO.”

-

Renjun sends Chenle a bunch of concerned texts the next day and Jeno video calls him during lunch. Chenle manages a few smiles but he mostly just listens to Renjun and Jeno bicker with each other. If they’ve noticed he hasn’t offered up any explanation for his absence, they don’t mention it to him or push the subject. Jeno just tells him that Jae liked the interview Chenle submitted and that there’s already another photographer who’s going to take Chenle’s place in the volleyball game tomorrow.

Chenle’s mom doesn’t get him out of bed during the day.

“You gotta get out of bed sometime, kid. It’ll feel a little better if you get up and move around some.”

“I’m fine,” he says flatly.

His mother sighs and shakes her head as she leaves. Chenle thinks she’s given it up but an hour later there’s a rap on his bedroom door.

“I said no, mom!” he calls.

He rolls his eyes when she knocks again.

“What do you want?!”

The door flies open and Chenle flinches in surprise.

“Oh he’s already in need of dire attention, just look at him!” Renjun gasps dramatically, throwing himself over Chenle.

“Sad and pale!! What are we gonna do?” Jeno cries, shaking Chenle roughly.

“Get off of me!”

Chenle is able to squirm and kick until Renjun ends up on the floor, but Jeno is pure muscle mass and determination.

“We were sent to cheer you up,” Renjun says from the floor.

“What if I don’t want you to cheer me up?”

“That’s too bad, Jeno already had an idea and it’s too fun to pass up.”

Chenle glares at him.

“You know how you’ve been complaining about the purple?” Jeno asks.

“Yeah?”

“I talked your mom into letting me and Renjun dye your hair blonde.”

_Maybe it’s time for a change_ , Chenle thinks. He nods after a second, though he’s a little apprehensive. Renjun lets out a whoop of triumph, flaunting the box of color. Chenle laughs at his friend’s antics as Jeno tackles him again and shouts in his ear.

“You’re gonna be a blonde!!”

“You’re gonna make the neighbors complain,” Chenle laughs as Jeno rests his head on his stomach.

-

“We’re supposed to keep this in for _how_ long!??!” Renjun says, reading the back of the bleach container. “We’re gonna wreck his hair!”

“That’s the point!” Jeno says, smoothing down the hairnet resting on Chenle’s head.

Jeno and Renjun don’t let him take much time explaining what happened with Jisung. When Chenle tries to press the subject, Renjun smacks him on the back of the head and tells him it’s not worth his time. Jeno tucks himself into Chenle’s shoulder and they watch movies and chatter with each other while they wait for the bleach to set in.

Jeno tries to pick Chenle up when it comes time to rinse out the bleach, but it ends with Chenle screaming and Renjun complaining about his lack of hearing.

“Wow, you’re lilac now,” Renjun says when Chenle pulls the towel away.

“That’s because you have to do it twice, stupid,” Chenle says, rolling his eyes.

-

“We really did kill his hair,” Jeno says as they stand back and admire their handiwork.

“He looks cute though.”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

-

Chenle is left laying awake at the end of the night after the insane amount of snacks they consumed and after Jeno and Renjun managed to get into a wrestling match and ruined their blanket fort. His mind is running a mile and minute, and in his muddled head, he blurts out:

“How much do you think Jisung hates me?”

There’s a tense moment in his chest before Renjun groans.

“Chenle what the fuck makes you think that Jisung hates you?”

“Do you think he forgot who I was because I was annoying?”

“Maybe he just has a bad memory?” Renjun says.

He can see Jeno sit up in the dark.

“What if he doesn’t though?” Chenle asks timidly.

“Then he isn’t worth your time. If he doesn’t see how wonderful and caring and funny and adorable you are, then he’s about to have the biggest loss in the world. You mean the world to us, Chenle, and if he doesn’t want to give you his time, then he’s a fucking joke.”

Jeno clambers up into the bed and pulls Chenle into his side. He hears Chenle sniffle quietly and he feels his anger fall for the moment being.

“You’re friends with Jaemin, maybe he can see about it for you?” he relents. “Just please don’t get hung up on this. You’re so wonderful, kid, you don’t need to feel like a burden to people.”

Renjun silently crawls up next to them and squishes Chenle on the other side. He rests his chin on Chenle’s head as Jeno rubs his back. They can feel Chenle’s front slip away and they hold him as he cries in the dark room over a boy who doesn’t even remember his name

 


End file.
